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Tony Stewart Interview Number Two

Our AutoClub adventure starts Thursday morning…I woke up very early, threw my luggage in the HHR and and headed southeast. It would take me about five and a half hours and six different highways to get to the hotel and check in. Misty, on the other hand, lives in Vegas and it only takes her about 3 hours to get there (and only one highway change for her). So she calls me when I am about halfway there to tell me that she has a flat tire! Yeah! Can you believe that? I was glad to find out that she got her flat before leaving town at least so she wasn’t stuck in the desert somewhere on the side of the road! Of course, she was worried she would miss our interview with Tony which was slated for 3:30 pm, but luckily within an hour she had herself a brand new tire (she tried to have it just patched but the problem was a crack in the sidewall) and was back on the road.

We met at our hotel (I was there probably 40 minutes or so before she was so I got us all checked in)…we had plenty of time to catch up (I hadn’t seen her in person since her birthday in late July), change and we were off to Rancho Cucamonga to the Office Depot Autograph appearance- which is where our interview would be taking place. We got there right on time. The show car was in the lot…the crowd waiting for autographs wrapped around the building…I was excited. Last time we interviewed Tony I was extremely NERVOUS (I remember cringing when I transcribed our first Tony interview back in March- because I could HEAR how nervous I was in my voice)…did I tell you guys that? Yeah I was SO freaking nervous that first time I don’t think I have EVER been so nervous. (If you are new here- Misty and I interviewed Tony before the race in Vegas back in February- you can read that interview here).

Misty and I finally got to meet Valli from The Fast and The Fabulous…and the three of us stood there at the Office Depot in the “media” area and chatted while Tony did a local television interview.

From left to right: Misty, Valli, Amy (me).

When Tony wrapped up with his television interview (which you can watch here…it came out great) Misty and I were up next. So without further ado…here is our second interview with Tony Stewart:

AMY: We interviewed you in Vegas at the beginning of the season and here we are it’s near the end of the season, can you tell us how your perspectives change from the beginning of the season when you are just starting to now where the end is in sight?

TONY: Well there is a lot of optimism at the beginning of the year but at this point of the season the handwriting is kind of on the on the wall. We know that we accomplished the goal of making the chase now we are in the second phase of that goal of trying to win the championship and it’s not off to a great start BUT it’s the tightest chase field we have ever had. We are tenth and we are 124 points out and we were able to gain 40 points last weekend in one day so there is potential. We are definitely not out of this thing at all. We got a lot of races left to go. If we have three more races like we had last weekend- we are right in this. We are definitely not out of this.

AMY: What is a typical race morning like for you?

TONY: Wake up, shower, no breakfast at that point. Go do our hospitality appearances and then go to the drivers meeting. Once the drivers meeting is over then I come back to the motor home and that’s kind of my time to relax and be to myself. That’s when I get my breakfast/lunch and just get ready for the race.

AMY: What was your favorite part of working this past summer with the Office Depot backpack give away program?

TONY: Probably seeing the kids. There is something about kids where there is no hidden agendas at that age. Every emotion that a child has is an honest emotion. So seeing these kids smile when they come up and get their backpack and seeing the pride on their face that’s…you can’t pay for that. That’s not something you can pay to get… that emotion from a child…that’s by far the best part.

MISTY: We know that you are in the middle of having a house built…what feature are you looking forward to most?

TONY: My fish tank. I have a big freshwater fish tank like you have at Bass Pro Shops. I am really really excited about it. It’s virtually done- everything around it is what we are kind of working on right now. It will be nice when we get the water back in it and we get fish in it and it gets on a day to day deal. It’s pretty neat. Like I said, I have seen it full of water, I have seen the waterfall work that goes into it. But it will be nice when the house is actually done and we can get the fish in it.

MISTY: What’s on your ipod right now?

TONY: Oh god…I just updated it last night. It’s full of everything. It’s full of the same stuff I had at Vegas plus more stuff since then! I wish I could remember the guys name that I downloaded last night, he’s kind of a mix between Kenny Wayne Shephard and Stevie Ray Vaughn, kind of a bluesy guy. One of our dirt track guys turned us on to him but I can NOT remember his name…he had a real wild last name. We honestly have a little bit of everything. I am not a big heavy metal fan…there is probably more classic rock than anything on my ipod.

So that is our official interview with Tony…which took place right there in the back of the Rancho Cucamonga Office Depot right by the furniture department:

Misty, Tony and Amy

The best part of the whole thing was when Tony complimented us by saying “I LOVE dealing with these girls!” He then went on to be interviewed by Valli…so I will be sure to let you know when that is up over there.

I will wrap up here but definitely say tuned in for more adventures from AutoClub speedway!